Flexible shower arm



May 1, 1962 s. J. sHAMEs ET A1. 3,032,357

FLEXIBLE SHOWER ARM Filed May 19, 1960 y R m w. w

1LWK f Mfm ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent O 3,032,357 FLEXIBLE SHOWER ARM Sidney J. Shames, 19 Agnes Circle, and Harold Shames, Agnes Circle, both of Ardsley, N.Y. Filed May 19, 1960, ser. No. 30,191 1 Claim. (Cl. 285-114) This invention relates to a llexible shower arm and more particularly to an improved positioning mechanism for a ilexible shower arm which operates to maintain the shower arm at preselected attitudes.

Flexible liquid carrying conduits which may be manually ilexed to preselected attitudes and which will maintain themselves at such preselected attitudes are not per se new.

The instant invention has as its object, however, the providing of an improved construction for such a device, which improved construction is characterized by its simplicity and inexpensiveness of construction, by its etliciency of operation, and by its capability of being easily serviced in the event of a structural failure in the attitudemaintaining means of the device.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the flexible shower arm of this invention illustrating a typical attitude to which the arm may be distorted in actual use;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal fragmentary cross-section view of the shower arm of FIGURE 1 in undistorted condition;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the upstream coupling of the device seen in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is similar to FIGURE 3 but with the flexing rod removed;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, enlarged, edge view of the upset end of the flexing rod prior to its assemblage to the shower arm as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3; and

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation view of the structure seen in FIGURE 5.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIGURE l a flexible shower arm 10` which embodies the invention herein. The upstream end of the shower arm is shown coupled to the downstream end of a waterdelivery pipe, or spout, 12 which projects outwardly of the wall 14 of a shower stall, or the like. The upstream end of shower arm 10 is provided with a coupling 16 which connects with the downstream end of spout 12. As illustrated in FIGURE l, since the shower arm 10 is flexible, it may be selectively twisted, placed, and manipulated to a desired attitude, so that the shower head at the downstream end of the shower arm will project its stream from a desired height and in a desired direction.

The shower arm 10 and its couplings are more fully seen in detail in FIGURE 2, wherein the upstream coupling 16 is shown to be provided with female threads 18 at the upstream end thereof adapted for connection to the threaded end of a male member such as spout 12. The body of coupling 16 is provided with a gripping portion 20, the outer periphery of which may be hexagonal, or formed with other appropriate llats, for the purpose of being gripped by a tool. The coupling 16 has a downstream nipple portion 22, the outer periphery of which is serrated or shouldered for the purpose of gripping engagement with the inner periphery of a flexible hose, or tube, 24 which is adapted to carry liquid therethrough.

The tube 24 is preferably formed of a flexible plastic material such as vinyl plastic, or may be formed of a. rubberized material or the like. A clamping sleeve 26 is provided with an inturned terminal flange 27. When the cylindrical wall of sleeve 26 is compressed, it acts to clamp the upstream end of tube 24 between itself and the serrated nipple 22 of coupling 16.

The downstream end of tube 24 has a downstream coupling '28 connected thereto. The coupling 28 provides a downstream threaded coupling part 30, a tool gripping portion 32 which has an outer periphery of hexagonal shape or formed with other flats, and an upstream serrated nipple portion 34 adapted for gripping engagement with the interior of the tube 24. A compressible cylindrical sleeve 3'6 engages the outer portion of tube 24 and clamps the downstream end of tube 24 between itself and the serrated nipple 34. Although the downstream portion 30 of coupling 28 is shown formed with male threads thereon, it will be understood that this is a matter of choice and the downstream portion of coupling 28 may be of any desired form, it being sufficient to note that a shower head or other similar device is to be connected to the downstream coupling 28.

In the instant device shown in FIGURE 2, a shower head generally indicated at 38 is threadably coupled to coupling portion 30. The shower head 38 has an internal apertured spider 40 formed therein, with a central land to which a screw bolt 42 threadably connects. The head of bolt 42 carries a jet-forming disc 44 which cooperates with the downstream end of the shower head 38 to define spray apertures which direct the water jets conically downwardly and outwardly relative to the shower head 38. It will be understood that while one specific type of shower vhead 38 is shown here, any other shower head may be appropriately attached at the downstream portion of downstream coupling member 28.

Now, in the invention herein it is desired to provide manually flexing positioning means for maintaining the shower arm 10 in various preselected attitudes. Toward that end, the upstream coupling member 16 is provided with a transverse support plate, or disc, 46 having a plurality of ilow apertures 48 therethrough. The central portion of disc 46 has a central non-circular aperture 50 therethrough. The apertures 48 accommodate the flow of water through the coupling and past disc 46. The central aperture 50 is preferably formed with a rectangular contour, as best seen in FIGURE 4.

An elongated flexible rod 52 is provided within tube 24 and is of a length to have opposite end portions of rod 52 extend at least partially through both rigid couplings 16 and 28. The rod 52 is formed of a bendable metal which normally does not tend to restore itself to its original condition. The rod 52 is of a nature to retain the shape or attitude to which it may be flexed, or bent, so that the rod 52 will cooperate with flexible tube 24 to maintain the` couplings 16 and 28 at selected attitudes relative to each other. The rod 52 has end portions which cooperate with the couplings 16 and 28 to maintain the shower arm in the attitudes to which it may be selectively manipulated, for example, as seen in FIG- URE 1.

The rod 52 is preferably formed of copper, or the like, because such material provides a desired strength while still being sulllciently bendable to assume the contour such as, for example, seen in FIGURE l. Furthermore, a copper rod 52 may be manipulated to various positions a satisfactory number of times before the rod will eventually fail.

In order to provide a working cooperation between the rod 52 and the couplings 16 and 28, the upstream end of the rod 52 is formed, or upset, by an appropriate method so as to define abutment shoulders 54, for engaging the underside of disc 46, and a generally non-circular, rectangular, stud 56 that extends beyond shoulders 54 and is adapted to project upwardly, for sliding passage, through the rectangular aperture 5t) in the support disc 46. In the assembly of the device, the stud 56 is projected through the aperture 50 with the shoulders 54 in engagement with the underside of disc 46, and with the uppermost terminus 58 of stud 56 spaced beyond and above plate 46. The said terminus 58 is then twisted, or skewed, to the position shown in FIGURE 3, so that the upper deformed terminal end 58 of rod 52 engages the upper side of plate 46 and removably locks rod 52 in position on plate 46. The length of rod 52 is greater than the longitudinal spacing of the couplings 16 and 2S, and is such that with rod 52 assembled on plate 46, the other end of rod 52 freely enters the nipple portion 34 of coupling 28. The lower, free end of rod 52 thus cooperates with the coupling 28 when the flexible shower arm is manipulated to its various selected positions.

The fact that the lower end of rod 52 is not connected directly to coupling 28 and' freely enterscoupling 2S is desirable, as this permits of axial and lateral' movement between the coupling 28 and rod 52 to accommodate the various manipulations that may be effected on the shower arml.

While the device here disclosed' showsY the flexing rod"` 52I connected to the upstream coupling 16, it will be appreciated that the rod 52v couldbe connected to either theupstreamgor downstream coupling and the free` end of rod 5,2f would then freely enter the other coupling. Furthern1ore, while theV mounting plate V 46 is shownV ind tegral withgthev coupling member 16the plate could' be apart separable from the couplinglv member into which it ts, and the plate 46 couldieither be press t into a coupling orA it' couljdlrest againstashoulder formed within the coupling part.

In a` device of this type, the parts are easily formed and assembled, because the attachment of the rod 52 to the plate 46 is ofv such simplicity and effectiveness. The rod 52 may also be easily removed from plate 46,V if desired, by straightening terminus 58.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is intended in the appended claim to cover all such changes and modications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.l

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is:

A flexible shower arm extension comprising, in combination: an upstream coupling member adapted for connection to a source of liquid, a downstream coupling member adapted to have a shower head connected thereto, an elongated exible hose interconnecting said coupling members to space them at opposite ends of said hose, means within the upstream coupling member defining an apertured support plate integral with the coupling and through which liquid may ow, said support plate also having a centrally locatednon-circular aperture therein, an elongated rod extending within said hose and being of a nature to be flexed and to retain. the shape to which it has been flexed to maintain. the pair of couplings at selected attitudes relative to each other, said exible rod being of greater length than the longitudinal spacing of said coupling members, whereby the ends of said rod extend into both saidcouplings to cooperate with said couplings', one end of saidk Vrod being shaped to form a shoulder, for abutment against the downstream side of said apertured plate, and a non-circular stud of substantially the same cross-section as said non-circular aperture extending beyond said shoulder for sliding passage only through said non-circular aperture, said non-circular stud cooperating with the non-circular aperture to maintain the rod at a selected attitudeV in said aperture, and said stud being of a length greater than thethickness of said support plate so as to locate the terminus of said stud upstream of the upstream side of said plate, to permit deforming of the terminus of said stud to cause said deformed stud terminus to engagesaid upstream side of said aperture plate to rigidly lock said rod on said support plate, and the other end of said rod extending a substantial distance and free of permanent securement into the downstream coupling member.

References Cited in the'ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 576,702 True Feb. 9, 1897 728,118 Lehmann May 12, 1903 865,355 Callmann et al Sept. 10, 1907 2,277,864 Horvath Mar. 31, 1942 2,640,502,r Powers Iune 2, 1953 2,759,765 Pawley Apr. 21, 1956 `2,908,295 Beazley Oct. 13, 1959 

